Dr. David Hopson
Meeting with the Gateway Towns Advisory Committee (GTAC) over the last few months has been an interesting and enlightening experience. Major topics have been the proposed withdrawal of Worthington from the Gateway District, unfunded mandates placed upon the district and our towns, regionalization of town services, and the Gateway budget. While the ebb and flow of the discussion has varied, the least discussed topic has been regionalization of town services and the most discussed topic the issue of Worthington’s withdrawal (although I expect that will change now that we’re in the midst of the budget season). As with the school committee, GTAC members have varied opinions regarding Worthington’s withdrawal but, as a group, appears to be generally against the proposal due to additional costs to the remaining towns, the potential damage to education in the district, and the precedent this may set for other towns and districts.
In our last meeting, it was evident that many of the wonderful things happening in the district are being overlooked, misunderstood, or just flying under the radar of many of our towns’ leaders. Although I’ll put much more detailed information on the website and in the budget blog, I thought I’d touch on a few of the items that the GTAC membership seemed unaware of. One question was why Gateway didn’t have extended, after-school opportunities for students. As reported to the school committee, and through various updates to the public, Gateway has multiple opportunities for students outside of the normal school day. In addition to high school athletics open to grades 7-12, there are a number of student clubs and activities that, although ‘advised’ by an adult, are essentially run and operated by interested students. This includes Model United Nations, Student Council, Yearbook, Drama Club, the Social Club, “Be Green” student recycling group and National Honor Society, among others. Gateway also has grant-funded after-school programs for grades 5-8 that provides a wide-range of interesting, informative, and active activities for these students, which are in addition to their own set of clubs and activities similar to the high school. Offerings this year have included Digital Storytelling, Future Inventors, Dance, Sports Jam, Volleyball, Survivor, Photography, Outdoor Adventure and Floor Hockey. At the elementary level, Gateway has a ‘wrap-around’ program at Littleville for both before and after-school care which is paid for by participating families. In addition, there are an ongoing series of ‘mini-courses’ offered to elementary students after school, which included a drama club and fitness club at Chester and a school newspaper, yoyo class, crafts, music and woodworking at Littleville.
With regard to course offerings, the district has also greatly expanded opportunities for students in grades 5-12 in certain ‘non-vocational’ courses such as woodworking, electronics, STEM courses (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), optional science courses in areas such as biotechnology and forensics, and is planning on extending course offerings in many other areas as we move forward with the idea of taking another look at our student schedules. We are also continuing to explore the idea of working towards an adult education program in conjunction with the Southern Hilltowns’ Adult Education Center (SHAEC), which is currently headquartered on the district’s main campus. So, despite having a budget less than it was several years ago, the district has worked to maintain and expand student opportunities.
John McDonald from Worthington recently wrote in the Country Journal that the district could ‘absorb’ the cost of Worthington’s withdrawal by using the district’s E&D monies, despite explanations from the district’s business manager, the financial auditor, and now the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that the district has both the recommended amount of money in E&D and that we use roughly 80% of this each year to offset the following year’s town assessments. Dr. McDonald’s suggestion would require that Gateway have twice the E&D than is certified by the auditor and the state. Again, additional details regarding this issue can be found on the budget blog located on the district’s website. Please feel free to follow these postings and take part in on-line budget discussions at www.grsd.org (the 2014-2015 budget blog is in the “News” drop-down menu).
As we continue moving forward with all of these issues, my hope is that our citizens will take the time and effort to become fully aware of all the facts surrounding the district, our budget process, and the outstanding opportunities that we offer our students.
